Saturday, August 08, 2009

Part IV: Finale

Sorry for the multi-day wait. Not that anyone noticed... only one comment after all those photos?!?! (by the way, Thank you Michelle)

This post is the last in the Florida series. I can't believe it has taken me this long. I miss my daily ramblings posts. I will be back to that very very soon, I hope.

Back to our trip. The final morning on the island, like all others, we spent pool side. Then Bryan and Beth wanted to show Madeline an alligator that lives in a lagoon in the condos Beth's family usually stays at when they visit the island.

Bryan and Madeline looking for the Gator.

The alligator was in a lagoon, behind a chain link fence and we were up on a deck well above the water. Madeline had a hard time seeing the little guy. He was only 4 feet long or so.... still larger than I am totally comfortable with of course. But we didn't hang around for lunch if you know what I mean. :)

After lunch at CheeBurgerCheeBurger (thank you Bryan and Beth!) we headed back to the condo. The plan was to nap and then beach or pool, but it was raining. We can't complain, it was the first bit of rain we saw since we first got to the island. So Paw Paw built a tent!

I don't know who had more fun, Madeline or Daddy! That is until we found Maw Maw and Paw Paw hanging out in it later. (To their credit, Madeline had been playing with them, but lost momentary interest!)

Dinner was spent at the condo of some very dear friends. I don't use last names, so let's call them the M family. I nannied for this family for 6 years while working on my undergrad and graduate degrees. The youngest of their three children was only 3 months old when I started watching them. The M's were on Sanibel vacationing as well with their extended family. Grandma M owns a condo on the island (where Kevin and I vacationed, and honeymooned previously) and they were kind enough to include us in their vacation as well.

The M family's cousin, Rosie, 15, has a keen interest in photography and took a bunch of photos of Madeline while we were there. They are some of my favorite photos of Madeline, ever.

Like this one I used as a header for the month of August 09.

Madeline and Sophia. Sophia is the youngest in the M family. Coincidentally, the dress Madeline is wearing belonged to Sophia when she was Madeline's age.

Kiki, Madeline and Kiki. You read that right. Madeline calls her blanket, kiki. To me Kiki is the young woman on the left, the middle kid of the M family. I love this photo for so many reasons. Not the least of which is that it has two of the most beautiful young girls as its subject.

The good photos just kept coming:

and this is just a fraction of them. I have to give a huge thanks to Rosie for these amazing images. She doesn't live in STL, but I will have to find out when she plans to visit so I can get her to snap more photos of our little miss.__________

So that wraps up our wild week in Florida. As I said before it is one of the best vacations I have ever had. Not that it was without stress. There was some of that too, but really feel a peace on that island. It was amazing to share that with Madeline. I think she could feel it too. Kevin and I have already talked about going back. Maybe not in the near future, but once our little ones are a bit older and can enjoy the slower pace a little more.

Huge thank yous for:

Bryan and Beth- without your beautiful wedding our vacation wouldn't have happened. You showed us a fantastic time while on the island and we thank you for including us in your day. We wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Bruce and Sue (aka, Maw Maw and Paw Paw)- you were wonderful roommates and we can't thank you enough for all the help you gave us with Madeline while on the island and while traveling. Your love and support made this week an amazing trip for our whole family.

The M family- thank you to Janet for lending us all your kid gear, including the baby bed and sheets and a million and a half beach and pool toys. To the rest of the family, thank you for including us in your vacation. Dinner was great and the company was incredible.

I have a few more catch up posts to get up here. Then I am done with the behind the times stuff...then back to your regularly scheduled programing?